WealthTV Files Complaint Against Time Warner

SAN DIEGO, December 21: WealthTV, a lifestyle and
entertainment cable channel, has lodged a carriage agreement complaint against
Time Warner Cable (TWC) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The complaint alleges that the cable giant had unlawfully
discriminated against WealthTV by refusing to carry the family-owned
independent channel or negotiate in good faith for carriage, while granting
carriage to its affiliated channel, MOJO. The complaint notes that MOJO, owned
by TWC and other cable companies, is similar to WealthTV with respect to the
series and programming it airs and is targeted at the same affluent male
25-to-49 audience demographic.

WealthTV has carriage on more than 75 video distributors
from Verizon FiOS TV to Charter Communications. Simultaneously transmitted in
high definition and standard definition, WealthTV delivers to viewers
informative shows that provide insights on travel secrets to fast cars, from better
etiquette to better investing and more.

“Just as alleged in the complaint, TWC jawboned us while
they studied our channel so they could copy it,” said Robert Herring, Sr., the
CEO of WealthTV. “Once they saw its success, they stole our idea and created an
inferior knock-off, MOJO, and launched that instead of WealthTV. It’s more
lucrative for them to carry their own channel than to give us a fair chance to
reach the public.”

Added WealthTV’s president,
Charles Herring: “We’d rather work with TWC than bring this complaint, but
they’ve left us no choice. As TWC knows, viewers love our programming. We hope
to get this resolved swiftly so that both we and TWC can turn back to what both
companies want to do—namely bring TV viewers great shows that entertain
and educate in high definition.”

WealthTV’s complaint comes on the heels of the FCC’s
indefinite postponement of reform of carriage agreement complaint procedures.

—By Irene Lew